Day at the Carnival
by Karianasan
Summary: The gang all find out about a Carnival coming to town. And they decide to go. Continuous story. FINALLY FINISHED! Sorry for taking so long!
1. The introduction: The Email

_This is my first continuing story. I have no clue how long I am going to run this, or what might happen. But it's just me playing around with Scooby Doo gang and trying to get their personalities down. So no mystery, just them being them and having fun at a carnival. Comments and Crit. is welcome as always and Enjoy!_

Toki

* * *

It was early one morning that Velma received an email; the more she read the email, the bigger the grin spread across her face. It was an advertisement for an event that was coming to the outskirts of Coolsville. The annual carnival; It came every year, but most of the time they were away on a mystery. Since they had nothing planned, she wanted to bring it up to the rest of the gang for breakfast. Printing the e-mail out, she got dressed and waited for the morning breakfast bell. Shaggy had picked up the tradition of letting them know that food was ready by ringing a bell at the entrance of the kitchen. She had just finished getting her hair in place like always when the bell sounded down the hall. Adjusting the collar of her sweater, she took the printout in hand and headed out her room door. 

She entered the hallway and headed down it to get to the open kitchen door. They had placed a doorstopper to keep the door propped open. She chuckled as she noticed what it was. An industrial sized can of tomato soup that almost came up to her knee was being used to prop it open. She walked into the kitchen and watched as Scooby and Shaggy were flipping pancakes halfway across the room, Shaggy was flipping them from the oven while Scooby was catching them and filling up the plates by the table. Walking to the table, she sat down and continued to watch until they had finished the first round of pancakes. Scooby placed down the last plate and trotted over to Shaggy to help bring over the trays of vegetarian sausage and bacon. They didn't look the same as normal sausage and bacon, nor did it taste then same since it was made from soybeans, but it still didn't taste to bad. Plus it was healthier for them.

"Do you need any help guys?"

Velma offered, but as usual, the guys turned her down. They enjoyed serving the rest of the gang. And accepted no help, unless it had to do with cleaning up. Then the guys had no problem with anyone else helping. But when it came to making the food, and setting up, that was their job and they enjoyed it a lot. It didn't take long before Fred and Daphne returned from town. They had gotten low on a few things so Shaggy had sent them on a run to the food store to get some until they could go serious shopping later. Fred walked in and sniffed the air, nearly drooling with the thick smell of breakfast. He was carrying in many bags in each hand, not wanting Daphne to have to carry to many. Though he was almost pushing it, even though she was perfectly fine carrying a few more, his macho male attitude prevented him from letting her carry any more then he had allowed. It was the gentlemanly thing to do in his mind. Even though he was nearly breaking his arms in the process forcing so much on him self when they could have taken it in several trips, or gotten help. Daphne shook her head at Velma and rolled her eyes, as an unsaid conversation passed across the two girls. _Men._ They both thought at the same time. Though Velma was more amused and Daphne more exasperated. Velma got up and helped Daphne put away the new food, while Fred, Shaggy and Scooby used the food they had gotten to finish making breakfast.

Once everyone was sat down, Shaggy got up and poured drinks as they all chowed down on the meal him and Scooby prepared. Pouring fresh orange juice they had gotten from the store, Shaggy handed out to everyone a vitamin. He was a stickler for making sure everyone ate well, and recently he had been making sure everyone had gotten enough vitamins as well. He didn't sit down and eat until everyone had taking his or her vitamin, once he did though, the left over food was rapidly decreasing. As the meal whined down, conversation started to pick up.

"Like, I heard something is coming to town, I say we should go to it."

Shaggy made mention as he was polishing off the plate in front of him, he had heard on the radio this morning about it and was making mention to the rest of the gang. Fred and Daphne looked at each other and brought out a flyer they had gotten off a telephone pole while Velma held up the email.

"It's a carnival…" They all echoed. A bit of silence fell over the table before they all burst into a fit of laughter. They had all gotten then same idea. Once the laughter died down, Fred spoke up.

"It's in a few days, and we haven't gotten anything new to do for a while. Why don't we all go, just to have a day of fun? What do you say Gang?"

They all grinned.

"Like, a day of fun sounds well… like fun! Eh heh heh." Shaggy laughed. Scooby was quick to agree. "Rah rah! R'un!"

"Jeepers, it sounds like it's going to be a blast!" Daphne said excitedly.

"We could all use a day out, I agree, let's go!" Velma said, grin across her face. Fred nodded.

"Alright, then it's settled. We're all going to the Carnival!"


	2. Arrival

The day of the Carnival had come, and the Mystery Machine had been packed and was ready to go. Everyone piled in as they all took their usual spots. Fred and Daphne in the front, Velma in the next row and the guys in the back. And also as usual, their portable fridge in the back was filled and ready for a day of adventure. Though she wasn't sure if it would survive the ride to the Carnival at the rate those two usually went through food back there. How they could eat without getting sick from all the bumps in the back there, she'll never know.

About half the food survived when the van pulling into the parking lot. Parking wasn't hard, but there were already a lot of people there. Everyone piled out and locked up the van, then headed to the entrance. With Fred in the lead, he got the booth first.

"How many?"

"5 people please."

The lady in the booth looked over and noticed the rest of the gang was waiting there and then saw Scooby. Her eyes squinted in his direction.

"No dogs allowed."

"Are you sure we can't bring him in? He's just like a person. Really he is!"

Shaggy tried to argue over Fred's shoulder. The women looked unmoving until her co-worker looked over. She shook her co-worked, pointing to the gang. 

"Martha! Don't you know who they are? That's Coolsville's legendary Mystery solving gang! Mystery Inc! And that dog is Scooby Doo! Oh course let them in!"

With the mention of their names, the lady picked up her glasses and placed them on her nose. Her eyes went wide as she saw who they were clearly. She recognized them out of the numerous magazines and newspapers they had been in. Apologizing, she shook her hands as Fred tried to pay her. After a bit of arguing, she finally accepted the money. She had them all place their arms one buy one and gave them instead of the usual few tickets for the rides, she gave them the all day pass. It was the least she felt like she could do for them. They thanked her and passed though the gate. She was waving until the crowd swallowed them up.

Once inside the main area, the gang looked around, trying to see what to do or go on first. It was an odd sight, as Velma had her nose buried in the map of the area, Shaggy was also in a similar position. Though the drool dripping from behind the map made it known his intentions, and cause for the unusual behavior. Daphne looked to Fred, who just put up his hands in a helpless gesture.

"Can't be helped. Shaggy, I know you and Scooby will be heading to the food area. Want to meet up at the games area in like an hour?"

Shaggy looked up from his planning a food route on the map to look up at what Fred had said. He thought about it a bit and checked his cell for the time. Then he pushed a few buttons and set his alarm.

"Like, sounds like a good plan Fred! And for once we're not the bait for it. Call if you guys find anything interesting. Come on Scoob, this way. They got a vegetable shish-kabob that's calling out names."

The Girls and Fred waved as Shaggy and Scooby took off to the food area. Daphne turned to Velma who had poked her nose back in the map.

"Find anything interesting?"

Velma looked backup and offered the map to Daphne pointing at one of the rides. Her finger tapping to draw attention to one of the rides she was thinking about. Daphne took the map and looked at the suggested ride with Fred trying to use his height to see over her shoulder at what Velma had pointed out.

"This looked promising." Daphne said with a grin. She looked over her shoulder at Fred, holding up the map to show him Velma's idea. Rubbing the bottom on his chin a bit, he thought it over. Though, the grin beyond his hand gave away his answer long before he spoke.

"Sounds good to me, Shall we ladies?"


	3. Food Court

Forgive me now, I have no clue how to do Scooby Speech. So it might be a hassle to read. I'm sorry. But usually Shaggy re-itterates what Scooby says. So I hope it isn't that bad. :bows: Sorry... But I hope you Enjoy it.  
Toki

* * *

While Fred, Daphne and Velma headed off to the rides, Shaggy and Scooby were completing their first sweep of the food vendors. They gathered arms full of the various foods before settling and claiming two of the rest area tables. Piling everything in the middle of the combined tables, Shaggy took inventory, while Scooby did the checking. 

"Alright Scoob, it looks like our first wave was successful, but let's go over the checklist, shall we?"

"Rah! Rah! Ready re r'ou r'are Raggy!"

Scooby saluted and then turn his attention back to the table. Shaggy took out a marker and moved it over the picture of the first place they visited.

"We got The Funnel Cakes and cinnamon balls from Bakery-O-Rama?"

"R'heck"

"The Oven Fries from Top Spuds? Curly, waffle and crinkle cut varieties? With Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo and Nacho cheese?" Shaggy whipped some of the drool that was forming as he was talking.

"R'heck, r'heck, r'heck… retchup, rustard r'and r'acho rheese… R'no rayo."

"No Mayo… Oh, Like I remember. That Mayo didn't look very good. Hm… Ok, next on the list is… Ah, the Roasted Peanuts, Cashews, Almonds, pecans and pistachios from the Nutty Nut shop? And next door was that Mexican place with the good-looking Nacho chips and dip. We got some of that right Scoob?"

Shaggy looked over from the map at Scooby. He was circling the table finding each of the bags of nuts and the carton of the nachos. After he found them, he looked over and made a thumb's up sign.

"Rah rah! R'ok!"

His tail wagged happily as he turned back his attention to the pile of food. The quicker he did his job, the quicker they could get to chowing down on it. He stared at the pile, waiting for Shaggy's next request. Seeing that he had not started eating the food yet, Shaggy looked back to the map to continue the inventory.

"We did make a stop at that Fruity Banana-za, right Scoob?"

"Rah, ranana r'hips, rapples, rilkshakes r'and R'aved ice! R'um!"

Scooby clapped his paws together as he listed what they had gotten, a bit of drool slowly forming at the sides of his mouth. Shaggy checked it off, a small puddle had already formed under him as he worked from all the drool.

"Say Scoob…"

"Rah Raggy?"

"Like' Why don't we call everything accounted for and just dig in. I'm starving!"

"R'ok."

Scooby agreed and moved himself to one side of the joined tables. He sat down on one side and Shaggy sat on the other side. Pulling out bids, they placed them around their necks as they eyes the food.

"1… 2…3…Go!"

Shaggy counted. At the word 'go' they both dug in to the mass of food at a frightening rate. Wrappers were laid to the side as food was getting practically sucked from them. Two organic disposal units that make food disappear faster then mouse in a room filled with cats. Two hands and two paws darted in and out of the pile, taking this and that and just inhaling it. It was hard to think they could even taste the food as the eat it at such a fast rate.

"Like' Pass those Honey Comb's, will ya Scoob?"

The Dane complied by tossing the comb like a Frisbee to his human companion. Honey flew in every direction, adding flavor to the food it splattered on its Arial journey to Shaggy. To them, a bit on honey didn't make any different, even if it did land in the Chili or in the lemonade. Shaggy caught it and tipped the comb at him like a cheering glass before he chomped down on it, honey oozing around his mouth.

The pile of food that was in front of them was getting smaller in size. They didn't stop to take a break to breath. Soon they were able to see over it. Then it was enough that they could clearly see each other fully. To the point that they were reaching across the tables to grab the lasts bits left on the table.

"Ah… I say that was a perfect starting course, eh Scoob?"

The Dane only replied with a resounding belch to show his appreciation to the fine people who made the food. Shaggy laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes then. Come on, let's throw this out and go for seconds, shall we?"

Scooby nodded his head. They cleaned up their mess and placed the tables back where they had been. Making sure everything was as it was, well…minus the giant grease stain that seemed to have soaked thick into the tables that they couldn't seem to get off. Shaggy was about to point out where they were going to hit for the second round when his alarm went off on his phone. Their hour was up. Looking to Scoob, he smiled and pointed to the phone.

"It's time to find the gang. Let's grab some to go and we'll go find them! Come on Scoob!"


	4. Rides

**Authors note:** I just wanted to tell you guys before hand that this is loaded with Velma techno-babble. I actually researched and went on these rides to get how they worked. Well, not on the Superloop, but I was told how it worked by a friend. I also had a website that told me about the specs and things of the ride. I planned to do more rides, but I had to take time into account and the hour would have been up at the end of the last ride. And don't worry, the next chapter is on its way. Just to leave you in suspense. -Toki

* * *

While Shaggy and Scooby were taking inventory, the rest of the gang headed across the carnival area to go on the scarier rides that they knew Shaggy and Scooby would never go on. And they would save the calmer; group rides for when Shaggy and Scooby met up with them in an hour. As they walked to the ride that Velma suggested, Fred had been pondering the choice for a while. After a bit of thinking, he could not help but ask Velma why she had chosen that ride in particular. It had been a while since they all had gone to a carnival and he never figured her to be much of a thrill seeker, at least ride wise.

"Hey Velms… I was wondering. Why this ride? I never knew you for the fast stuff, won't your glasses fall off?"

She turned to him, a smile steadily growing across her face as her eyes danced in her excitement. It was apparent that she knew what she was getting herself into and was looking forward to it.

"Well Freddy, a company called Wisdom first manufactured this ride type in 1983, calling it Gravitron. They were interested in taking the concept of the G-Force simulation for rocket take off and space travel, used commonly to train astronauts in NASA and then turning it into a ride that the people can enjoy. It takes the riders on a 80 second ride of 4 G's of centrifugal force that pins the riders to the base as they spin up to 24 rotations per minute!"

She said nearly skipping as she walked. Daphne and Fred just looked over at each other and shrugged. What ever made her happy; they weren't about to argue it. They reached the ride and looked at from the outside. Just as she mentioned, the ride looked like something you might see astronauts using or finding for that matter, it looked like a UFO. The ride was in full swing spinning, so it was not possible to look inside. After a about a minute of waiting, the ride slowed down and then stopped, letting off a bunch of dizzy looking people off the ride. They were soon let inside Velma leading the way with a big grin on her face. Obviously excited at what she was about to experience. Velma told them to each get different areas of the ride, so that they could look at each other when the ride was going. Standing their back against a pad, the guy in the middle spoke the usual safety information before he told everyone to lean against the wall as much as they could. Oddly the walls were slanted, making the riders lean back a bit. As the ride started, there was a squeal of the motor as it was taking its newest victims on its set course. The speed built up and everyone could feel the pressure growing with the speed. The whole world felt like it was tilting on its side as the machine was reaching the full force of the ride. As the machine reached its limits, a clanking sound could be heard all along the ride. The walls we sliding to the ceiling, the feeling were definitely different. But no one was falling off the walls; they were pinned by the centrifugal force, keeping them in place. With a bit of a struggle, Daphne looked over at a grinning Velma. Glasses still on, kept in place by the spinning force. She had been watching Daphne and Fred's reactions to the ride, and it was a bit amusing to watch. She herself had never been on the ride before, and it had surprised her a bit by the sheer force of the ride, and the sliding to the ceiling was something that was not told on websites. But she knew that the Centrifugal force would keep her in place. Pushing up a bit against the force, she shifted her weight and was turning her body around. Even in a Skirt, the force kept it against her as she positioned herself upside down. She giggled as she looked around at everyone on the ride. A few people had saw what she had been doing, and were trying it themselves, while others were experimenting, trying to lift their arms off the backing. It wasn't an easy task to fight against the pressure. Some also just sat there, stunned and scared on the ride. The guy stationed in the middle controlling the machine warned everyone to get back right side up because the ride was almost over. As the ride slowed down, the walls clanked back into place. Venturing a bit, Velma pushed herself off the pad and reached out for the bars surround the controller seat. Using it to steady herself in the lessening force, she pushed and was standing vertically on the wall. Another feat that could only be achieved in such centrifugal force. As the ride slowed even more, Velma had to walk down the wall to the actual floor. The ride docked back at the stairs to let them out and the door opened, letting the riders off the ride. Most staggering, they all stumbled into the light and back into the real world.

"Golly, That sure was odd feeling."

Muttered Daphne, trying to get her head straight after the frazzling the ride had done. Her hair though still was in good shape, so she didn't have to fix it.

"Yeah. I think I left my stomach in there as well. But it was neat how we were able to sit sideways. I even watched one little kid go upside-down."

Fred remarked, swaying a bit since he was feeling a bit sick from the ride. Daphne went over to support him as he got his balance and his stomach settled from the intense ride. Fred motioned for a bench and seat himself on it to aid the stomach settling process. Whipping out the map, Velma's nose was yet again buried behind it as she looked for the next ride. Daphne plopped her head on the younger girls shoulder to be able to look over it and see what rides were nearby that might be nice to try. Pointing to one, Daphne's eyes grew wide as she looked at the small picture adorning the park map. Looking around, Velma pointed in the direction it was and lead the way to the ride. Fred's eyes grew wide as he looked up at the giant circular ride.

"Oh dear…" Fred whispered.

"The Superloop is truly a unique piece of machinery. It's 23-metre or fifty-five foot tall steel ring construction is one of the largest ride that isn't a track based ride. Up to 20 people, the train is connected to an inertia ring that is moved by hydraulics that can propel the riders in either clockwise or counter clockwise motions according to the machine operator. So each ride has the ability to be different depending on the controller at the base of the ride. This ride in particular has a clear top to it, so as the riders spin and travel upside down, you can look up and get a view of the rest of the park. Shoulder straps keep you in place and lock you securely into each seat as the ride. Also, the ride has such a ingenious set up, that it can take only 2-3 hours to set up the ring without the help of a crane by only two people."

Velma babbled as she looked upon the ride with reverence. Daphne and Fred weren't exactly sharing her sentiment, as the screams from the riders hung in the air. Fred audibly gulped, his stomach doing a flip. After just going on the Gravitron, this one looked ever more intimidating. As the line dwindled, the anxious feeling in them all rose. Even Velma wasn't bouncing as much as they grew closer to the monstrous ring. Grinding to a halt, the ride let of its last passengers and it was their turn to get on. Filing in three per row, they slid into the first position on the ride at the front. Pulling the overhead shoulder straps, they got locked in place. As soon as the bars were down, there was no turning back. Once everyone was clipped in and secure, the helper got down from the standing area and cued the man in the cage by the base of the ride. Signaling him back with thumbs up, the ride lurched into motion. Similar to the pirate ships rides, the train with them inside rocked back and forth to get momentum. But that is all that was similar, as the ride got up enough speed to throw the whole train around the loop, Backwards! Screaming could be heard as the whole machine flipped the gang upside down with the rest of the riders. Though after one turn or two, most of the frightened screams turned to screams of enjoyment as they watched the world spin around, the clean ceiling giving a beautiful view of the whole park as they spun. Daphne gasped as they spun and at a certain angle could see the whole park.

"Jeepers… That's pretty."

Though Velma was having a tough time-sharing her sentiment. If the ride were going forward, the force would have kept on her glasses, but going backwards had made her have to hold on to her glasses to her face, less they fall off. Though the ride was similar to the last one and spinning, vertically didn't bother his stomach as much as the horizontal Gravitron did. Though as the ride slowed down and stopped at the top of the ride, giving the riders a perfect view of the whole park for a few seconds, it started to slide forward. For most, this new shift in direction left the feeling of stomachs and lunches being left at the top as the ride spun them now forwardly upside down. At least Velma was now able to enjoy the ride, as her glasses were plastered to her face from the force. As the ride slowed down, it returned to rocking back and forth to lessen the inertia and allow the ride to halt them with out forcefully putting the breaks on like some rides.

Piling out of that ride, riders staggered to get used to the world being in one position. A Bit frazzled, Velma turned to address Fred and Daphne.

"So what did you think of that one?"

Fred smoothed down his hair and looked back at the menacing ride as it took it's newest set of victims on it's exhilarating ride. He spoke as he looked on at what he had just been on.

"Not… What I expected. But it wasn't too bad. That view was really pretty from all the way up there. Those clear roofs are a nice touch. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much had the roof been solid and I couldn't have seen the whole park."

Daphne was busy smoothing down her hair from the ride. Going both directions had whipped it around and got it mussed up. Once it was down, she turned to make her own comment.

"I saw a ride I want to go on. I think it's this way!"

Grabbing both their hands, Daphne pulled them into a run. Fred hiccupped and had to swallow to make his stomach return to it's proper spot as he broke out in a trot behind her to keep up. Excited and wondering which ride Daphne wanted to go on, she kept up with the older girl. Pausing a few times to check her positioning from the ring and thinking where the ride could have been, Daphne managed to get them to the next ride. She released their hands and crossed hers in front herself. Smiling at the choice of ride she had picked. It looked even better right side up and closer. Fred looked up and sighed in relief. It seemed like a harmless enough ride. It's not like he didn't like the fast rides. The first two has thrown his stomach in directions they weren't used to right off the bat. So all he needed was a smaller, less nauseating rides to be able to handle the next ones. And this was perfect.

"Ooooooooo…" Commented Velma as she looked at the ride in front of her. "An older model Waveswinger."

Velma followed Daphne's lead to the line as she continued to techno-babble about the ride. Fred leaned over to listen, to make sure it didn't sound to bad.

"A company named Zierer in Germany made it in 1972. The maker's name was Franz Schwartzkopf. Originally named in German, "Wellenflug" the first portable model of this ride was made in 1974. As the name suggests, it moves in an oscillating, wavelike motion as the top rises telescopically, titling once it reaches its peak. Making the riders fly though a nice breeze at about 10 rotations per minute. Hydraulically run, the ride is fun for all ages."

Since the rides massive capacity for riders, it didn't take long till they all were seated and awaiting the ride to start. As the riders were checked to make sure the bar came down and the seats were secure, the staff filed out and the ride kicked into life. First was a jerking motion, and soon the floor was several feet away. Silently, unlike the last two rides, the giant machine slid the riders forward. Soon it has enough speed to make the riders hand at least a 45-degree angle as the ride set into the oscillating motion.

"Whee!" Shouted Daphne as she held out her arms. She felt like she was flying. The others were feeling similarly. The ride left the riders with the feeling of soaring though the air, even though they all were sitting in small chairs. It was like diving and swooping as the ride moved in the wavelike pattern it was named for. As the ride slowed down, it was almost upsetting that it had to stop. The ride let them off and with a new resolve; Fred was ready to tackle a new ride. Pulling out the map, Velma offered it to Fred for him to pick the ride now. He looked over the rides and then looked at the time.

"Alright gang, we got time for about one more ride. And I have the perfect one before we meet up with Shag and Scooby. Follow me."

Leading the way, Fred waved though the crowds to try to get to the ride he picked out. Daphne and Velma looked at each other and shrugged. Though they knew he was up to something, for a sneaky smile was playing across his face. As they got closer, they had a pretty good idea what he had in mind. Dashing front to the building, Fred spread out his arms, showing off his choice. Velma started giggling while Daphne shook her head.

"Oh come now Fred." Daphne said exasperated. "Really, a haunted house? Couldn't you have been more original?"

The grin never left his face as he moved towards them to express his idea. Sliding between the disbelieving Daphne and the giggling Velma, he placed his arms around the girl's shoulders.

"Come now. How could Mystery Inc turn down a haunted house?"

Fred said with a grin. Velma bit her lip to keep in her giggles as she responded.

"Really Freddy. You right, I think this has more then just a man in a mask. I _really_ think we should look into this."

She snickered, humoring him. He just looked her way and nodded. Knowing full well she was trying to be sarcastic, but he was joking around anyway. Daphne looked at the two of them and shook her head again. Holding her head as if the whole ordeal was giving her a headache, though she was giving into Velma's giggles. She had one of those infectious ones that can make anyone start laughing along.

"Alright, alright… Well making this place does looked a bit shady. We'll give it a go. Plus even though it's fake, we would never be able to take Shaggy and Scooby on it. Sure, let's go on it before we meet up with the guys."

Placing his hands at his hips, he offered his elbows to both Velma and Daphne. Giggling still, Velma took the extended elbow, while Daphne shook her head one more time and took it. Leading the way with a bounce in his step and a gal on each arm, he brought them over to the ride line. Most of the riders and the man at the front let them get on first, most knowing just who they were. Being fans of horror and things like that, they knew who Fred, Daphne and Velma were right away and wouldn't let them argue as they were pushed to the front. A few people wanted autographs as they passed. With Fred in the middle of the ride, he placed his arms protectively around the girls as the ride started and they plunged into darkness.


	5. Haunted House

The ride lurched though the darkness; Velma's giggles had quieted down. Not that she was scared, but more curious as what was going to pop out at them next. The ride clacked as slowly, and eerily music drifted around them. There was a light that dotted ahead of them.

As they got closer, the light revealed a replica of the phantom of the Opera, playing an organ. His hands went up and down on the same keys, even though the music was more then those few notes he played. The head leaned a bit to the side and backwards as if he was speaking at them, as the speaker hidden somewhere crackled to life with its prerecorded message from the Phantom.

"Better turn back before it's to late… You will not get a second chance…" The phantom leaned back and continued to play as the cart they were in passed right behind him. Passing from left to right down the track revealed that the Phantom was only half all there, and not in the crazy sense. On the left half, it made it seem he was human, on the other side he was an animated pile of bones. It almost seemed as that was the only shock to the figure when the head spun totally around to face them. Red eyes glowing eerily in the crazed looked the figure had as its mouth clacked open.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! I WARNED YOU!" The speaker cracked as the voice hit the high-pitched laugh on the recording. The door the cart had been heading towards had a plank of wood slam into place and bar the way. Exit barred, the ride instead pulled them sideways and a hidden passageway in the wall. The cackling of the phantom could be heard as his head turned back into place for the next set people to come along. The wall closed back up behind them, sending them into deep darkness.

The cart dropped down what felt like a rickety hill. It swayed this way and that as it raced around sharp twists and turns. Giving the feel that the cart was going to fall off the section of track, or worse; fall apart underneath them. Daphne and Fred had held on to the edges of the ride as it lurched but Velma seemed more interested to peer into the darkness, and not worry about the ride's bumpy nature or the fear of falling out.

"You girls alright?"

Fred spoke into the blackness, unable to see either one of them. He couldn't even see his own ascot, that in the motion had come up and whapped him in the face. And you would think orange would be easier to see.

"I'm Fine. It's just dark… Ow. And bumpy." Daphne responded from left. A bump lurching her to knock her jaw on the edge she had been clinging to. A snicker could be heard from Velma.

"It's just the hydraulics installed in the base of the cart, and a few well placed hills. Makes it feel worse then it really is. The worse it can do is…"

"WAH!"

The cart dropped and the hydraulics pitched the cart as forward as it could go in seconds, before dumping them rightly back to the level position.

"…Is that." Velma murmured flatly.

She could here Fred and Daphne chucking at her. She snorted and turned her head away in a huff. "It's dark." Velma muttered, a short protest against them snickering, though it was aptly timed. Darn irony, she thought to herself.

A scream was heard in front of them, drawing their attention away. The scream seemed to be coming from the light that was up ahead of them. The cart they were in seemed to slow down as they started to approach the room. It slowed down to a crawl, making the suspense of the upcoming light intense. Daphne couldn't help but strain a bit closer, trying to peer into the room before they actually got there.

As the cart moved around, it revealed an old woman in a rocking chair. Toothless, the old woman shifted the chair back and forth slightly. She had a shawl and tattered hems to the raggedy dress she was wearing. A seemingly harmless old woman, nothing to be scared about like what the ride was making it seem to be. She seemed to be knitting a thick piece of red yarn into something on her lap. It almost looked like a very loose knit red sweater. She had gotten most of the collar, a sleeve and some of the upper chest section done already. Velma eyed the sweater approvingly, since she herself liked them. Though she preferred orange over red, but Red was nice too. Daphne nudged her, nodding her head at the sweater.

"She's making that for you." Daphne joked.

"Nah… not my color." Velma replied. "Though home made knitted sweaters are always nice."

The cart moved slowly as the woman character looked up from her work. She lowered the sweater and seemed to smile at the new set of people coming by.

"Oh, hello dears. You must have come from my son's room. All he likes to do is play that silly organ and scare the visitors. Ignore him; there is nothing to be scared about. We don't get to many visitors around here no more. I wonder why…"

As the cart moved slowly past her, a mass beside her was revealed inch by inch. Beside the rocking chair seemed to be another person. As the cart got more in front of her, the sprawled out figure of a man was laying beside her. Her head had dipped back down and she was tugging on the yarn which seemed to be trailing down the side of the rocker and out of the man's stomach.

"Darn it, out of intestines already. Seems like I'll just need another subject to come and help me finish my husband's sweater. He just loves the color red…." The old woman looked up to stare at the cart. Tilting her head, her eyes rolled and changed colors into a glowing red. Fangs seemed to fall down from the inside of her mouth as she creepily stared at Fred, Velma and Daphne. "You dear's will do perfectly!"

"Oh… That is just so gross…" Muttered Daphne as she noticed finally what the sweater was made from.

"I liked home made, not home grown…. Ugh." Commented Velma with a bit of disgust.

"Well at least it would keep you nice and warm." Replied Fred, kind of amused at the concept. Not something he had seen before. Two hands whapped him for his comments.

The cart, sensing the impending danger for its cargo lurched to a faster speed. The brows of the old woman snapped downwards with a mechanical click and she snarled out of her crackling speaker as it forced the loud sound across itself. 

"BOYS! Catch them before they get away!" She commanded, echoing behind them. Though it seemed she herself made no effort to run after them.

The cart bucked and dashed down what seemed to be a hallway of a rickety old house. The cart seemed to have a mind of its own, trying to keep Fred, Daphne and Velma in one piece. Sadly though, the cart had a top speed about five miles per hour. Hopefully that would be enough to outrun the old ladies, 'boys'. 

The hallway seemed to be covered in family pictures. The sepia toned pictures seemed at first normal pictures, but as they got closer the bizarre family came into view. One picture was of "Father and son fishing" Which showed a mountain of a man standing next to his son with something hung between them. The father's mammoth hand clasped around the smaller part of the body of the fish; where the body met the tail. Though has the cart got closer to the picture, it revealed that they were holding up a man about his ankles, and not a fish. Other pictures reflected similar family outings, but each were more gruesome then the last. It was like the Addams family married into Hannibal Lector. At the end of the oddly long hallway, There seemed on the left was a set of stairs. The cart, noticing it moved around the end of the hallway and got to the base of the stairs.

A ripping sound of a cord from a motor sounded. With a roar, the distinct sound of a chainsaw came to life. In a swinging motion, a chainsaw wielding boy came into view at the top of the stairs. It seemed to lead to a room that belonged to one of her sons. The Boy and his beloved chainsaw were now after them.

"For Ma!" Shouted the red-neck drawl from the boy over the noise of the chainsaw.

With that direction cut off, the cart backed up. As Daphne and Velma watched the boy get closer and closer to the edge of the stairs, Fred turned behind and yelled!

"AH!"

Whipping their heads around, the girl's eyes widened as an axe swung down at them by a massive mountain of a grizzled man. The brim of his hunting hat seemed to shade his face, though the glowing eyes shone right through. The axe came down short of Fred, but hit the back of the cart and took a chunk off the back of the cart. As Velma would comment later; she noticed the clear latch mechanism and a line that showed that the back could be separated from the front. But at the moment, all she could do was yell in surprise.

Dashing forward the cart barreled and seemed to have broken through the walls. A short stretch of breaking through sets of walls seemed to show various scenes taking place in the mad house they had taken a ride in. A man bathing with a severed arm to wash his back, a room filled with bone furniture and a couple watching TV on the spine couch. And various other scenes, though they all were painted to show the rooms in the house. This was a family ride after all, and nothing was real. 

The cart finished racing though the walls to come out to a backyard scene. It seemed harmless enough, at first glace. It was clear they were still inside the ride, in a room that looked outside, but it still helped keep the mood of the crazy house. Slowly, the cart crawled though the empty backyard, going from one side to the other. On the side of the house they burst out of, there was a children's playground. Swings swung on their own as the cart passed by. Everything seemed normal. Swings, a slide, a child sized rack…. 

"Why do children have a Medieval rack as part of the play ground?" Daphne said puzzled.

"So they could stretch time and play longer." Fred joked.

"Maybe they just want their friends to… Hang around." Velma quipped back with a grin.

"Oh you two are so bad. Making jokes like that." Daphne said with a huff.

"Hey, it is a haunted house. It's required." Fred stated, like it was common practice. "Cheesy horror demands making fun of. They had a whole TV show doing that to movies."

"Yeah, will you were yelling like the rest of us when that axe came right at you." Daphne retorted back at him. He looked away fighting off a flush of embarrassment.

"It was a big axe…" Fred grumbled in his defense, though trying not to say it to loud so that someone could actually hear what he was saying.

"What you say?" Daphne smirked, having heard what he said.

"Nothing, nothing…. Oh, what's that?" With a hand coming up, Fred pointed to the far corner. As if they knew Fred had pointed the area, the lights turned on adding lamination to the area. What were at first masses in the darkness became lit gravestones. The cart moved closer and the graves parted to show another, quite larger mass in the darkness. The lights splashed upon it and revealed a Massive doghouse. In what looked like red-ish brown paint, or what you hoped was paint, was the letters "Precious". As they got closer, a rumble of a growl came from the dog house. It was probably left over sound effects from Jurassic park being used, but a cart rattling boom rattled the whole area it.

"Come on cart, let's go!" Fred urged the shaking cart.

The growling got closer, as did the sounds of the massive footsteps. As if the cart was scared as well, it was shaking slightly. It was a familiar sensation, since often when they traveled with Scooby and Shaggy; things seemed to tremble a lot.

Eyes flared to life, as a pair of red burning eyes glowed in the inside of the doghouse. An echoing bark rang out in the backyard. That was a perfect time for the cart to make a squealing peel out and dash through the door that exited the house into the backyard on the opposite side of where the Cart has burst through the walls to get them out.

"Go go go!" Urged Fred to the cart, a large grin on his face. The excitement of the chase was pumping, and he loved it. Velma was leaning as far as she could get, trying to catch a glimpse of the 'dog' that would have come out of the doghouse, but the cart moved to fast.

"Dang." Muttered Velma as the cart moved into the room and the door they had gone through closed shutting off her view of the backyard.

"They probably would not have showed it anyway." Daphne commented on Velma's grumpy muttering.

"I know, but still. What if they did…? I wonder what it looks like." Responded Velma to Daphne, curious.

"Here we are getting chased, and Velma wants to know what it looks like." Fred snickered, which earned him a backhand from Velma. "Good. I would have gotten worried if you did. Then that would mean someone stole her brain and gave her a pod person."

"Velma is such not a pod persons." Daphne snorted. "It's more of an alien in a Velma suit." She said with a nod, earning another snicker from Fred. Velma just rolled her eyes. Turning back to the room, Velma noticed something.

"Um, guys…"

"Yeah?" Responded both Daphne and Fred at the same time.

"Why is the room all dark and the cart stopped?" They had been bickering with each other, that they had not noticed the room they entered was all dark and impossible to see any further then each other.

"I wonder…" Squinting into the darkness, they were all able to make out shapes in the room. But nothing that actually gave away what was inside. But as they stared into the darkness, the shapes seemed to be getting slightly closer. Slight sliding sounds, like something being slowly shuffled across the floor seemed to be 'slowly shuffling' in their direction. Quietly, almost as if it was taking place in the other room, there was a sound. Or like it was on a phone that someone on the other side was talking loudly on. And as the sound got louder, it became clearer what was being said… Or to be more accurate, laughed.

Heh… hee heehehe… hehehehehehehehee…..

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

The lights snapped on as the cackle rose to an almost deafening level. The shadows were four of the nastiest looking things that could be called human. Well, if they were real and not probably foam carved for the ride. Covered in dirt and grime, they all had crazed looks in their eyes, and each holding a crueler looking rusty utensil. It seemed the cart had brought Fred and the girls into the Kitchen of the deranged house.

"You ain't getting out of 'ere… Well not in one piece ya'no." Came the slang of one of them, the speaker crackling as the voice was fed through him. As the figures slid closer to the cart, the cart made a mad dash to try to get away. 

"Oh no you don't! Precious!!!!!! Sic 'em boy!" Hollered one of the sons as they watched the cart speed away from them down another hall. Voices yelled after them, but the cart wasn't going to stop. Darting out an entrance of a hallway, they entered a long stretch of a dark hallway. A light was at the end of the tunnel was a ray of hope, but it was a loooooong stretch away. The only light was that at the end of the hallway, but it seemed to be enough to get a gist of how did the hallway was.

A rumble sounded off behind them. A thunderous racket rang out from behind. A growl seemed strained, getting louder and louder until the sound of squealing metal and a pin of a chain link breaking. A bellow rang out of victory, and the sound from far off was now coming after them. The pounding got closer, faster then they were getting to the light.

"Precious! Sic the intruders!" Shouted the voice again.

Lighting up behind them, a massive set of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness. The bellow rang out again and the eyes were catching up to them. Bursting out of the shadows, the big beastie was chasing after them, though it seemed that it was pushing something in front of it. With the massive dogs head held down, its teeth were clamped down on the back of the cart the father had cut off earlier. With lightning speed, the dog came charging up and smashed the back of their cart back in place.

"I was wondering… Wah!" Velma had been wondering how they were going to get the back reattached before the end of the ride. Though once the back was attached, the Dog's head raised and sprayed them all in fake drool. Dripping, the light burst open and blinded them all. A whine came from the dog and he slunk back into the darkness as the gang slid into the front of the building. The door closing, so the riders that have yet to get into the carts, could not see what had been chasing the gang.

"Ugh my hair…" Fred commented, running his hand through his hair. Thankfully they had just been sprayed more with a mist and an air jet then anything that was more of the consistency of dog drool. Living with a large dog themselves, they knew drool. The ride came to a stop, and the worker moved to let them out.

"You like?" He asked, with a look of hopefulness in his eyes.

Three pairs of thumbs up came from the cart, with a burst of laughter from them all.

"Awesome!" Velma said with a grin.

"Yeah, it was great." Fred agreed.

"All but that end, the rest was ok." Daphne had to say. She didn't say anything out loud, since Fred had already made fun of her first response before. She didn't like her hair being sprayed, mussed or anything else. Daphne reached for her cell and flipped it open to check the time. "Shoot guys, we got to move! The time is up and we have to get to where we planned to meet Shag and Scooby." Tugging on Velma's sleeve, she pulled her as she headed to the meeting place in a dash.

"And off we Gooo!" Trailed Velma as she dashed after Daphne. Fred shot another thumbs up to the worker and grinned at everyone in the line.

"Have fun!"


	6. Games

With the hour up, it was time to call the gang back together. Bringing out his cell phone, Shaggy was dialing up Daphne. She was the one most likely to hear her phone. It lived very comfortably in her purse compared to any of the others. The phone rung twice before she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Daphne? Where are you guys?" The duo had moved towards the games area where they were all to meet, but with the crowd that had gathered around the various games and the loud sounds ringing about it was going to be hard to find them. Though there was a tapping on his shoulder.

"Behind you." Fred said with a grin. Knowing that the guys had been coming from the Food court area, it was not hard for them to figure out what side of the game area they two where coming from. Shaggy grinned and gave the others a wave.

"You guys have fun?" He wondered how well the rides were, though he himself was happy to not have to have gone. Food before fear at any time.

"The Haunted house was pretty fun!" Fred said with a smirk, he enjoyed it alot since it was fun beyond the fact that the girls squealed a few times. His grin earned him a backhand from both ladies. "What? What?"

"Come on, time's a wasting! Let's get to some games!" Daphne said leading the way. The others were close behind.

Booths lined the makeshift corridors that they made to corral the guests from one palce to another. The Game areas were no different. The game styles ranged from the simple, such as Dart games and hit the bottles, to more technologically inclinde games like the Water inflating balloon games and mechanical skeetball. Noises of winners rang out as people had managed to beat the odds of the games and won the prizes. And in proper carnival fashion, the prizes were mostly brightly colored and pretty useless unless you liked stuffed animals or inflatable figures.

"So, where do we want to start?"

Looking the games over, Fred found one that caught his eye. A classic game that probably existed in every carnival ever made; the Milk Bottle game. A simple three metal bottles that were stacked upon themselves. The game was simple, for a dollar you have two to three soft balls to wail at the bottles set at a certain distance away from the counter each person was standing behind. Fred went first, placing a dollar down for the vender to come over and provide the two balls for him to throw. Rolling up his sleeves in a macho pose, he wound up his shoulder before giving the ball and throw.

CLANG

With an expert toss, he gained an expert bounce off the side of the bottles. The top of which seemed to gain some of the impact enough to knock it about, but it didn't fall. With an unhappy huff, Fred tried it again with the same result.

"Don't know know these games are fixed?" Daphne commented off handly. The vender grinned at her comment, she apologized.

"This not really a 'fix' ma'am, but merely a test of wit and skill in order to knock it down. There are a few ways to do it. If it be to easy, then we would be out of business." He grinned wider. "Tis a business proposition, that's all."

"See." Fred defended himself with the venders comments. "All I have to do is figure out the trick." He placed down another dollar and the vender was more then happy to obligate for another round of balls.

As Fred tried over and over to crack the trick, Velma was searching about for a piece of paper. She finally settled on a scrap off of one of Scooby's snacks in order to have some scratch paper. Pulling out a pencil, she went to work scribbling something upon the paper.

CLANG

Went another of Fred's many thrown balls. He slapped down another dollar and got another two balls. Velma reached out and placed a hand upon one.

"May I borrow this?" She questioned as he took the other one and eyed the three milk bottles.

"Sure. I'm going to size up this throw anyway, I almost got it last time." He said, since the bottle spun more the last time. With hand gripping his chin in though, Velma used her pencil to judge the surface of the ball with small marks on her pencil. Leaning over, Shaggys curiosity got the better of him as he wondered what she was up to. Sensing he was there, she added commentary to what she was doing.

"Basically I am trying to calculate the rotational speed I can generate with the assumption of the weight of the milk bottles, based on the sounds that Fred keeps making as he hits them. And judging the best angle of trigectory I should throw at to reach the maximum impact desired to have the desired result. Aka, The bottles falling down."

CLANG

"... And not like that." Velma pointed as Fred's ball bounced off the milk bottles, sending the top one spinning but still it never fell. And the idea was to take out all three, not just one of the bottles.

"May I?" Velma offered as Fred seemed to be getting quite red in the face from the ordeal and his wallet alot lighter.

"It's his dollar." Offered the Vender, though he had been eying her numbers. And while he wasn't a math person, he recognized that something like his stall could quite possibly be figured out that way. He just hoped if the little lady did get a prize, she would take them away so another set of saps... Er, customers could come through.

"Sure, I'm done." Fred waved his hand, letting her have the last fifty cent worth ball to throw.

Narrowing her eyes, she darted her eyes around the various points she had in her calculation. Taking one more look at her notes, she nodded and took aim. Leaning back for power, she threw... Straight down.

Fred was about to complain when the ball hit the ground with a wicked bounce and came straight up at the three milk bottles. Hitting the middle of the two, the ball also continued to hit the top bottle from the bottom. With a great clatter, all three bottles fell in different directions. The plate where they once stood was barren, and the jaw of the vender was hanging open.

"Well all be. I knew they were ways to do it, but darn that just put the topper on all of them. I've never seen such a clean hit. I have to take my hat off to you little lady." The scruffy vend took off his ratty baseball cap and bowed his balding scalp to her.

"You won. So what do you want? You have the pick of the litter."

While Velma took a gander at all her options, with Scooby and shaggy offering suggestions, Daphne moved to elbow Fred.

"Mighty arm, eh?" She ribbed him, since he wasn't able to get anything and Velma got it on the first try. Fred bumped her back.

"Now now, I didn't say I was going to get it, I sure was trying though. But now I know for next time!" Fred said in fake confidence. He'll have to look over her notes that he had swiped and put in his pocket for later. Over the years he had learned alot of things from Velma, and he wasn't ashamed to learn from her. He was just glad no other guys were watching.

The Vender leaned over and waved for Fred to come closer. Fred hesitated for a second before going over. He leaned close enough for the vender to be able to reach his ear with a cupped hand.

"Pst, don't feel bad buddy. I've seen much bigger guys not even come close to hitting the top one off like you did. She's juts a wonder, eh? Lucky man, which one you all with? The cute Redhead behind you or the bright bulb over there?" The vender pulled back and shot Fred a thumbs up. "Lucky dog." He added as Fred blushed.

Shaking his head. Fred moved away from the vender as he helped Velma take down her pick. She chose a cute little cat plushie that sat perfectly on Scooby's head. She laughed as the beany little toy sat between Scooby's ears, he didn't seem to pleased. Though it seemed the conversation between 'men' didn't go unnoticed by Daphne, neither Fred's blush. As Fred moved away, Daphne moved closer to inquire.

"Soooooo...?"

"So?" Fred looked over at Daphne suspisiously, she was acting a bit to chipper and her smile was hiding something.

"Soooo... What were you two talking about?" She continued to smile.

"Ah, that? Nothing. Just man's stuff, about hitting down the balls and stuff. Said I shouldn't feel to bad and all." Well, it was partly true. He was just leaving things out. Daphne nodded, but kept the same look.

"Man's stuff eh?"

"Yeah."

"Nothing more?"

"Nope." He didn't like where this was going.

"...So talking about Man's stuff made you blush?"

"Look! Hey what about one of those games?" Fred dodged the bullet and dove for one of the stalls. Stalling in the stalls, brilliant plan.

"Hey, I loved those!" Shaggy pipped up from behind. It was one of those group games that would use water guns to fill up a balloon and pop them. The first one to pop it wins.

"Sure!" "Rah!" Came a chorus from behind him as Scooby and Velma agreed to the idea. Daphne narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh, I'll make you talk Jones. But right now I'll just enjoy kicking you butt in this game. Come on!" Daphne wagged a finger at him and slid into the '13' seat. The rest of the gang filtered into free seats and the game attracted other players and they got ready to do battle.

"Alright. Attention everyone!" The vender shouted over the intercom so both sides could hear him over the noise of the other stalls. "At the bell, first one to reach the top and burst the balloon wins! Everyone ready?GO!"

The bell sounded off and with a whoop they were off and squirting. The guns were a bit odd at first, their cannons all slightly off from what you might figure it to shoot to add some difficulty, but soon everyone was on target and aiming for victory.

BRIIIING!

Rang out the bell as the balloon broke with a bang. Heads turned to see who won. It wasn't Fred, nor Daphne, though their balloons were close in size. Velma was off sitting a distance away, but with the shake of her head it wasn't her. Though the excited barking let them all know who won.

Having great aim, Scooby was able to squeak by and beat Shaggy's gun. He also tried to cheat by distracting Shaggy by tail tickling, but what ever methods had earned Scooby the win. Looking about the prizes, Scooby oddly choose another cat, blaming the other was lonely on his head and needed a friend.

Everyone came around Scooby to congratulate him, and it seemed the distraction was enough to distract Daphne.

Games came and passed as each took turns picking shops. Ring toss, Balloon darts, and Basketball were all tried. Some they won, others they just have to give up. But fun was all around, everyone was enjoying themselves and having a blast. It was then Fred had something catch his eye.

"How about this one guys?" Fred pointed at a stall. Flashy outside like all the rest, it was a gun shooting game. Simple in concept, the game was just a gun and a ways away a target. A piece of paper with a red star in the middle, the point being to shoot the whole star out. But what really had caught his eye was one of the prizes. And one that he wanted, not just another kitty to add on top of Scooby for amusement sake.

Coming up to Velma, he tapped her on the shoulder and waved her to come close.

"Pst. How good are you at these games?" He hoped she was good, that's why he had choose it. With her brains, he figured it would be easy enough for her.

"I can win it, why?" She asked curiously, a eyebrow raising at the fact he was so hush hush. The others weren't paying attention, since Daphne decided to give it a go and wasn't doing to bad. Scooby and Shaggy were routing her on.

"I.. want one of the prizes..." He admitted sheepishly. The eyebrow rose even further as she looked over the options that hung above in display. Her mind clicking away at the options before she narrowed it down to the only possibility.

"That one, eh? The little black with the..."

"Yes. Please don't tell the others." Fred said in a hushed tone, feeling guilty to ask her. But Velma seemed more amused with the request.

"Ok, but you owe me." She said with a smile, heading over to where Daphne was just finishing up.

"May I?" Velma asked Daphne as she was about to put down the run.

"Sure. The aim is a bit off to the left. And has a bit of an arch up from the cross hairs." Daphne commented about where the bullets hit. It was common for the venders to bend the barrel with this game as well. So all you needed to do was shoot a few test shots to fix your aim and then go for it.

"Thanks." Velma looked odd holding the larger gun. It was obviously not made for someone her height. But it wasn't much of a bother to her. Leaning against the barrel, she sighted it in before handing the gun over to the vender to get a refill. Daphne was handed her target which still had alot of red left. With two light pulls of the trigger, Velma confirmed Daphne's suspicion about the aiming and then let loose the repeat fire of the gun. Fred moved over to watch Velma shoot standing next to Shaggy. She was really good, but wasn't really shooting out the star, more so shooting around it. Finishing her circle, she ran out of bullets just in time for the last one to hit the top of her circle and knock it out, the star in the middle.

"We have a winner!" The vender said a bit grumpily through his low voice. He didn't expect alot of people to win, let along this small girl in orange. "...What ya want?" He grumbled, but in a polite way.

"I want that one..." 


	7. Suspense

The suspense was built up as Velma finally pointed to her prize. Her finger clearly pointed at the one lone stuffed toy that hung off in a corner by itself. Mostly Silver; it was a kinda dome shaped, little UFO. Unidentified Flying Object. It was a classic UFO, with a tiny globe on top for the bridge of the ship and little plastic dones to represent the lighting around the sides. It even had little Wire feet so it could stand up on a table, and a small little green man waving a flag.

"That one?" The vender asked, Velma nodded. She was sure, but why Fred wanted a little green man she wasn't going to ask. Atleast not yet. Though she figured she would find out sooner or later, he owed her one now. Then again she probably had other debts the rest of them owed as well, she just figured it's best to keep them in storage for a later date, just in case.

"Hm..." With the UFO in hand, she looked over at where Scooby was. He had little kitties covering him; tucked into his collar, sitting on his head, wrapped around his tail. He was kinda to themed at the moment, then a devilish idea popped in her head.

"Well, Since Scooby is covered in cats, I think I have to find a better suitable spot to put this. Let's... See." Walking over to where Fred was standing, she got up on her tippy toes and plopped the little UFO into his blond hair, wigging it a little so the feet settled into the roots.

"THEY have landed!" Velma joked as it looked like the little toy had in fact fly over and landed in Fred's hair. He didn't look so amused.

"Ahahahahaha... That's perfect Velma. Oh Fred, by the way, I think I see Red Herring talking with some mole men over there. Better go catch him!" She took a jab from the past, since when he was little he used to go a bit over board at times. But that was part of Fred as well. He just gave her a flat look.

"Har Har. Very Funny. Though I have been keeping contact with Red for a while now. We write letters. He's been traveling alot."

Fred said as they started to move between the stalls. The games were fun and all, but there was more to the Carnival then just them. And worst case scenario they could always come back.

"Like, how is Red, Fred? Heheh, that rhymed. But seriously, how has he been. It's been a while." Shaggy commented, taking up the rear. A laid back and enjoyable pace he was cruising at, with not a care in the world.

"Well he's been doing con..." Fred started before he was cut off by a scream.

"WAHHH!"

With the grace of an acrobat, Velma shot from the ground, over Fred and Daphne and settled into Shaggy's arms in the back. Her eyes were wide as dinner plates and she was clinging hard to Shaggy.

"C.c.c.c.c.c.c.c..." She stuttered as the rest of the gang looked in shock as their usually calm brain had catapulted herself into Shaggy's arms. A classic pose that usually had a different order, namely him in her arms and being the scared one.

So what could be the cause of Velma's distress?

Turning back to looking in front of them was the cause. A very confused cause, as the man was absolutely baffled at the sudden disappearance of the woman he wanted to give a free balloon too. Standing around a towering height (at least to Velma) of 6'5", a man in a brightly colored clown suit stood blinking with a hand outstretched.

"Ah, thank you. We'll take that for her and just be on our way." Daphne commented to the mystified clown as the Red Head took the balloon and guided the rest of their group away from the Coulrophobia inducing man.

"...encyclopedia murderer, poor king tut, reduced to bits with the simple flick of his wrist..." Muttered Velma, eyes still large and open.

"I don't know what came over me." Said the slightly panting Velma. With soda in hand, the rest of the gang had sat her down (after prying her off of Shaggy) and got her something to drink.

"Well, it is called an irrational fear for a reason Velms." Shaggy said taking the soda from her and eying it greedily, Though they had gotten it for her.

"You can finish it off, I'm ok. Just nothing TOO exciting for me for the next little bit till I can calm down. Ok?" Velma waved her hand and let Shaggy loose on what was left of her drink. Which found it's way between Shaggy and Scooby. A tail here and a hand there, clutching it for victory over the other.

"So something easy, eh?" Daphne responded as she looked around where they were. They had traveled far away form the games in order to get Velma out of the area where that clown was working. They didn't exactly plan to head back there anytime soon, but where ever here was wasn't a bad place to be either. Looking around, Fred helped Daphne look for a good idea while the guys fought.

""Well, any more rides off that way is out." Daphne pointed off to their left. The map indicated it was more rough rides and not what they were looking for. Fred leaned over to the map and did notice one thing.

"Well... There is that." He pointed at the one spot of the map nearest to them.

"Oh, no. You can't be serious Fred." Daphne rolled her eyes att he notion.

"What, it's a nice and easy ride." Fred defended himself.

"I'm not riding on something so stupid." Daphne snorted, tossing her head. This got Velma's attention. Leaving her seat, she wandered over and peered to see what Fred was pointing at. Especially at what could get Daphne flustered so much.

"...I...I'll go." Velma whispered.

"What?" Daphne had hear her, but didn't believe it. VElma got a seriously look and nodded. Saying what she said earlier with more confidence.

"I'll go. I've never been on one. I kinda..." Her confidence fading as she started to blush and look away as she finished her sentence. " I've never gone on one of those. No one has ever asked me."

"It would be my honor." Fred said, offering her elbow to her. Daphne shook her head.

"Alright, you two have fun. I'm getting a bit hungry anyway. We'll meet you guys in an hour. I'll take Shaggy and Scooby for something to eat." Just as Daphne said the last bit, the two in question materialized out of thin air with a bit of a breeze coming with how fast they appeared.

"Sounds good to me"  
"Rah Rah! Rood R'is Ralways rood!"

"Alright, you two have fun! Meet you in an hour." Daphne waved to them before turning and following the map she had taken from Fred to get to the Food court. Though she probably didn't need the map, since she had two oft he best food bloodhounds in the carnival at her aid.

"Alright boys! Let's go get us some grub!"

--

For a while Velma and Fred walked together. Velma's small hand laid lightly in an old fashion way on Fred's extended elbow. He was being a perfect gentleman as he guided her to their destination. It didn't take them long to get there.

"Welcome to the Tunnel of Love." Fred said, gesturing to the ride before them. 


	8. Tunnel

Once they reached the line to the ride, Velma started to get nervous again. It was like the feeling she got when she felt like their might be a clown around. An unnatural fear.

"You know I only wanted to go since I... Well, mainly due to the fact that I... Well what I mean to say." Velma stuttered, blushing all the while though not taking her hand off of Fred's arm. She feared that her hand would get to clammy and it would be uncomfortable. She thought about removing it.

But Fred didn't move his arm. His mind recalled what the vender earlier had said, but he shook his head and gave her a warm smile.

"You wanted to go since you've never gone before." She nodded dumbly, chiding herself mentally for acting so stupidly. But certain things could make even the smartest person turn stupid. But Fred didn't seem to mind.

"Well it's my first time as well. So we'll go into this like scientists! We'll use our detective skills and solve the mystery of why couples like the ride so much. I mean, really. What normal people go into the Tunnel of Love just to see what it's like?" Fred surmised. He was curious, since so many couples went in. What was so special about it anyway?

Velma seeped back into her normal attitude and shot him a glance with an added eyebrow raise.

"Are you saying we aren't normal?"

"We solve mysteries with a talking dog who thinks he's a person. We help arrest guys whose goals in life are to get rich quick by rubber suits and fake masks... Do you say that is normal by average standards?" Fred pointed out as they moved in line for the ride. Their were a few couples line in front of them before they could go in.

"You do have a point there." Velma thought about it and they weren't really joe average.

"I mean come on... I got an Alien on my head, wearing an Ascot after labor day!" Fred tried to joke, Velma snickered and shook her head.

"It's march."

"...It's still AFTER Labor day. Then again, we hit into a contradiction. Since there is always a Labor day before, and a Labor day after, when isn't it labor day? So does that mean it's only bad to be wearing an Ascot on the day itself." Fred pondered, taking his train of thought way off course.

"It's white." Velma pointed out.

"What? No it's Orange. A delightful Orange at that." Fred said with a knowing smile. Velma knew that smile, he was just acting to make her distracted to feel better. And it was working. Shaking her head she decided to not push the current topic.

"Did you hear?" Came a voice from in front of them. The statement itself drawing attention from the other 'couples' nearby the speaker. "..Some people have been coming out of this ride, scared for their lived. They say it's haunted."

Velma looked over as Fred's face lit up. She wasn't sure if she shared his sentiments or not. A Haunted Tunnel of Love? Was someone following them or something? Or did they just happen to in all of Ohio come across the one haunted Tunnel of Love that existed in the state? She wasn't sure, but her ears betrayed herself and listened in for more information.

"No, really?" A woman gasped and clung to her boyfriend. The guy didn't look to amused.

"Someone is probably messing with people in there. Maybe a Carnival guy or something." The guy tried to figure an excuse.

"But then why would it be called the Tunnel of Love?" Asked another woman who had been listening. The line infront of them seemed to be clumping as the groups of people clustered to talk. Velma and Fred hovered on the fringe of it all, trying to gather more information. "Wouldn't if it was an act, call it the Tunnel of Horror then?"

"I hear a couple went in there and never came out." Another lady said in a hushed tone. "And other couples breaking up as soon as they came out."

"Next!" Shouted the man up at the front, all eyes turned to look at the man. A few ladies pulled their boyfriends away, while others gripped them as they braved the 'haunted' ride.

"So what do you think?" Fred said as they moved up in the line and soon were third to go inside. He had a smile stretching ear to ear, and seemed to be enjoying this alot more knowing there was something fishy going on. Velma found herself feeling the same way. Instead of that uneasy feeling she had before, her stomach was aflutter with excitement. It was probably just someone in a mask or something, but it was habit to get all charged up when these kinda situations arose.

"Kinda reminds me of High School." Velma added.

"Oh, all the mushy couples and paranoia about breaking up over something as trivial as a ride?" Fred poked fun, though he knew what she was talking about. Which his statement did earn a short harmless jab to the gut in response.

"You know what I'm talking about." Velma snorted, Fred just laughed.

"Yeah yeah, I know. It's just like old times when we just stumbled over mysteries instead of them coming to our doorstep."

"NEXT!"

"... Shall we go my dear." He said hamming it up. Velma rolled her eyes and replaced her arm upon his offered elbow.

"Let's."

The boat they got in was a classic swan shape. Such an graceful and noble bird that had been tacked on as a romance piece since they mated for life. The poor boat had seen better days, as some of the pain cracked and flaked off. But normally you weren't supposed to be paying any attention to the boat, rather each other. Fred wasn't any better, as he leaned over and peered into the water.

"What a rip off. The boat's on a track under the water."

"What did you expect? Self propelling boats with self guidance systems? It's a carnival, they aren't going to have something that fancy." Velma commented, though the idea did sound interesting to play with later in her lab.

"Still." Fred huffed. They could at least hide it better."

"Fred, most people coming in here don't comment about how the ride works. They are more interested..." She blushed, turning away to peer into the water herself. "...Other things." She shook her head and knocked away the blush. She was here as a scientist. Nodding her head, she looked forward as the darkness ahead was seeming to becoming lighter.

"Hey look over there." She pointed out. The ride went from the calming sounds of the waves upon the boat to almost what Fred would call... Elevator music. Well, it wasn't that bad, but it was trying to be all romantic and it wasn't working for him. He would probably fall asleep to such things.

"You think they would be playing something like Barry White... at least something with more class?" Fred grumbled, Velma had to hide her smile. Though he had a point.

Coming to the slightly lit area, the sides of the ride were covered in cherubs. Fat babies with diapers and wings staring down at them with smiling faces that were cracked and aged over the years of use and exposure to the more humid area due to the water. Velma thumbed her hand at those.

"And these are supposed to be love inducing? Kinda reminds me of that staring robot from Funland. Remember him?" Fred nodded, he recalled the wacky robot all to clearly.

"Yeah, not to all inspiring image with those little things. Why do they think small kids with big smiles and armed with bow and arrows are romantic material? I wouldn't want to be shot by one of them."

Velma was about to respond when a scream came echo'ing from the couple that went in before them. Fred and Velma nodded and sunk under the sides of the swan to only be peering with their eyes. Further down the section they were getting to was all dark, probably there to inspire cuddling rather then fear as it seemed to be. Though from where the scream seemed to have come from, they heard giggling instead. Peering into the darkness, two forms hovered in the shadows on either side of the Tunnel.

"Shhhhh..." Hushed one of the figures as they turned to the arriving swan. Ducking their heads down, they managed to barely escape being noticed by the two.

"Nah. Coasts clear. This one's was sent empty." A second voice chimed in.

"I wonder if we scared them all away. Hahahaha."

The two voices seemed almost squeaky, like they belonged to some random kids. Some kids who obviously were enjoying scaring people. As the swan got closer, and their eyes adjusted to the darkness it was easier for them to see the two perpetrators. Adorned in fly fisher Wader outfits, they kept themselves dry in the water inside the tunnel. With gloves and masks, they looked a bit to early for Halloween. The two boys were just abusing the darkness and the couples that rode on the ride. But little did they know their trap was about to be sprung.

"They'll never catch us!" Cackled one boy, giving a hearty laugh as he waded over to give his partner in crime a slap on the back for a good job. They reveled in their victory, having spent the last while enjoying scaring the riders that came through.

"Oh really?" Just as the swan boat got up to them, Velma popped up and crossed her arms to lean her chin upon it. She grinned their way as she made her presence obvious.

"Wah"  
"Oh no!"

The two boys called out as their little charade was finally caught. They turned to run, but they came across something they didn't expect. Patiently waiting, Fred had slipped out of the swan and snuck around to get behind the two 'monsters'.

"Hiya boys. You guys are a Thousand Years to early to be pulling this stunt on us."

"Aw man"  
"Busted." Grumbled the boys as Fred got a strong hold on the two and shuffled them through the water back to the swan. Thankfully the ride was slow in general, so he had more then enough time to catch up to it. Which by the time he got there, Velma was done shaking her head at him from his comment.

"What?"

"You've been watching to much Anime recently, haven't you?" Reaching over, Velma helped Fred to get the two boys on board and then helped him into the swan as well. He pulled his feet in and sent water splashing about with his soaked pants.

Blame Daphne and Shaggy. The keep watching the stuff... Man! My poor pants." Fred groaned as he just realized what he had done to his pants. Velma couldn't help but laugh.

"Now you really sound like Daphne."

They both laughed as the boys sulked from being caught. Obviously not finding it all that amusing. Probably not getting why it was funny either. Daylight couldn't come soon enough for the two boys. As the swan came ip to the platform, Fred grabbed the boys and hauled them out before the end ride conductor.

"I believe these two are responsible for all the scares."

Pulling off the masks in proper tradition, he revealed the two sulking children. They were caught and knew they were in trouble. The man scowled and took the two kids from Fred.

"Wait till we find your parents. They will probably have more then a few choice words with you two."

"Oh man..." They groaned as a chorus.

"And another mystery solved!" Fred chirped, spinning around the masks in his hand. It took him a second before he realized he still had them and turned to give them back when he noticed they were gone.

"Darn. Oh well. At least I got a souvenir!"

"I'm not sure what amazes me more..."

Having helped herself out, she came up beside him. She paused from her sentence long enough to wait for his obvious confused look her way from what she said. He nodded for her to continue, which she obliged. "... Well the fact we found a mystery on our day off. Or the fact that you did it all with a small UFO sitting on your head. I'm even surprised the glow in the dark alien didn't give you away."

They burst into laughing, leaning on each other for support. The laughed a while before they started walking.

"Come on. Let's find the rest of the gang. There is still alot more we haven't seen or done here today. And we got a story to tell. I bet Daphne will be jealous she didn't come." Fred chuckled, still playing with the masks, tossing one to Velma as he finished his sentence.

"Well, I'm kinda happy she didn't go. Then I wouldn't have been able to have been here to help." Velma caught the mask and played with it in her hands. A small it of silence built up between the two, in which she broke by moving the mouth and facing the mask towards him.

"They'll never catch us!" She tried to mimic the boys voice. Fred smiled and puppeted the other mask right back at her.

"Nah! The Coast is clear." Then Fred added some maniacal laugher for good measure that sent them both into snickers. As it died down, they continued to walk with the occasional chuckle.

Suddenly, Fred leaned over and plucked the mask out of her hands.

"I'm glad you came too."

**-PLOP-**

He used both hands and plopped the mask upon the top of her head on her hair like a hat. And it was a bit too big, so it slid and sat lopsided on her head. She now had two faces, though one was staring up at the sky.

"... And now we match! Come on. Let's go find the others."


	9. Meanwhile

As Fred and Velma were getting themselves on line, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby had reached the edges of the Food court. Smells wafted rom all sides , making her stomach growl in hunger. The guys also weren't helping, as they recalled vocally what they had eaten earlier that day.

"We got The Funnel Cakes and cinnamon balls from Bakery-O-Rama... Aaaannnd... Curly, waffle and crinkle cut fries, with all the dressings... A bunch of nuts types from that neat Nutty Nut shop." Shaggy rattled on, with Scooby adding comments as well.

"Ron't rorget rah Racho's!"

"Ah, like thanks Scoob. I almost forgot about it."

Daphne was about to remark about her complaining stomach and for them to just pick something already when something caught her eye. A smile broke across her face as she needed to get a close look to ensure she saw in fact what she thought she saw.

"Hey Guys, I'm going to look at soemthing over there. Here's twenty dollars, maybe it count. Go get yourself something on me. I'll be back." Holding up the bill, the guys eyes lit up like sausers and the money was soon snatched away. All that was left of the two was a cloud of dust.

"Thanks-alot-Daphne!" Came a slurred afterthought as they disappeared out of view.

With a snicker, Daphne wandered off to the attraction that caught her eye.

--

"I wonder where Daphne went off too." Shaggy sad as he looked past the pile of food he was carrying. When it came to food, Shaggy was savvy enough with money to make it go a long way. A skill he had picked up when the gang had spent some time apart and he got a short lived job as a Airport contraband unit. Pity they had lost their job, since it was such a nice gig. What harm was a 'little' taste testing?

Scooby had finished all that he had been carrying and with Shaggys comment set to look out for Daphne. With sniffer on full alert, he soon found the missing lady.

"Rere! Rere!" He jumped up and down all excitedly before bolting over to her. Daphne had just enough time to block the Danes attempt at a tackle and instead wallowed her with kisses. That and she had been very messy with a Churro and Scooby didn't want her to waste a napkin when he could lick it off. Tree conservation and all that.

"Down Scooby." She held out her hands to stop him and they were quickly covered in slobber as everything in range was attacked by his tongue, rendering her free of all her sugary goodness. Though she managed to dodge just in time as Scooby's teeth clicked together in open air where her Churro had been seconds before. She had foiled his attempt at stealing her snack.

"Rats." He said with a snap of his paw.

"You can't have mine Scooby. But..." That lovely word was a thing of future promises, and she made good on her promise. Drawing out her credit card, she held it infront of the two of them to get a good look. "...I'll buy you one instead. And anything else you guys might want. The bills on me!"

At the beginning, Scooby was unhappy at the lack of getting to eat her snack. But when she claimed hat she would pay for more food, his eyes looked over at Shaggy in hopefulness.

"Like' Really Daphne?" His voice almost squeaked at the promise of more free food. More then just twenty dollars. Her credit care had a 'skies the limit' extension on it from her father and it could mean alot of Churros for them both. Though hopefully she wasn't just yanking on their chain.

"Oh come on boys... Would I lie to you?" She came between the two of them and wrapped her arms around their shoulders. "Dig in, it's my treat today. We should live a little! Today it a day of fun, right?"

"R'oh Boy!" Scooby yipped enthusiastically, clapping his paws together. Shaggy started eating what he hand in his hands in order to free up space for more.

"Want one?" He offered Daphne one of the ears of corn on the cob he had picked up. She shook her head and politely refused.

"Maybe later."She smiled a rather sneaky looking smiled that the other two missed entirely, focused on the prospect of all the food they could eat. She was up to something but even if the guys did noticed, they didn't see to care.

"I better tell Velma when she gets back about this..." Daphne mumbled to herself.

"What did you say?" Shaggy had been eating at the time and she had been talking low he had not heard what she had said, but knew she said something. Taking a second to fumbled over the words in her head, she finally got something to use.

"I said I better treat Velma and Fred when they get back." She then added. "I wouldn't want to leave them out of all this good food."

"Ah, good idea!" Shaggy responded with a nod, licking off his fingers before the Dane could get to them first. Daphne smiled again.

"This is going to be a great day." 


	10. The Girls Evil Plot

It was a while before Velma and Fred had managed to get themselves to where Daphne had been hard at work. The various people among the crowds of people occasionally turned to stare, as Velma still had a Mask on her head, and Fred was still sporting the Alien. They were quite a sight and were distracting other carnival goers as they passed. Velma was a bit unnerved at the attention, but Fred didn't seem to even notice. He just merrily walked on, spinning the other monster mask upon one hand. Like he didn't have a care in the world.

Sometimes Velma envied him... But she really didn't want to look that silly either.

Entering into the food court, it wasn't hard to find the guys hard at work on a few tables full of food. It seemed they had pulled several of the wooden picnic tables to form a strong enough place to put all the food they were chowing down upon. The pile towering over them both, covering them in the shadow it casted.

"Hey guys..." Peeking the mask around the corner of the food, Fred talked with the mask, knowing what reaction he would get. And just as he expected, Shaggy saw the mask and jumped into Scooby's arms with a yell. Expertly, the Dane managed to catch his partner without even dropping the food he had been working on.

"WAH! Oh. It's just you Fred."

Following after the mask, Fred's smiling face came around the mass. He grinned, and Shaggy recovered quickly before Scooby got to far ahead of him on the meal before them.

"Phew Fred. Like' don't do that." Shaggy shook a ear of corn at Fred, who was grinning like an imp. The spread in front of them was impressive, even for them; Fred thought. The blond man wasn't even sure how they could afford all of it, having eaten earlier as well.

"Raphne's reat!" Scooby exclaimed, guessing Fred's unspoken question before he could ask it aloud. There was something about how he wiggled his brows that the hungry Dane had deduced the question before it was said aloud.

"Velma Velma! Over here!"

Velma had originally wandered to where Fred had been, but soon the red head got her attention. Wondering over, she found where Daphne had been, oddly further away from the guys then she would have expected. Especially that she was the provider of the whole thing. She would at least be picking at it, shouldn't she? Curious, Velma padded over to where Daphne was hiding.

"What you doing all the way over here Daph?"

"Shhh... Come here. I got a proposition for you. Here's the plan..." Whispering into the younger woman's ear, she shared information about the thing she had seen earlier. A sparkle hit Velma's eye as she listened into the masterful plan Daphne had been setting up.

While the girls planned in secret, Fred sat down and played with the mask telling the guys what had happened earlier.

"Those tunnel of love places are rather odd. I think I get what it's trying to do, but even that place could use a new paint job. It was flaking and alot of the stuff looked run down if you ask me."

"Well, it did seem like this place travels around alot, maybe they didn't have time to get a new paint job on it?"Shaggy had managed between mouthfuls, using one hand to fend off the hungry Scooby from a bunch of fries he had wanted for himself.

"True, but then again how many people are like me and Velma and actually paid attention to the paint job?" Fred said with a laugh. Only the two of them would go into the Tunnel of Love with observation in mind. Ever the detectives, Fred mused to himself. "But those kids thought they were pretty funny."

"R'ids?" Scooby slipped under Shaggys arm and snagged something in front of the beatnik with one bite, with the vanishing talent that even magicians would be envious of.

"Yeah, why Velma's got a new hat, and the thing in my hands I spooked you guys with earlier. Two young kids thought they were funny by scaring couples in the Tunnel. Me and Velms heard about some couples leaving the tunnel scared by some haunting. They had some stories of couples disappearing or breaking up after they came out."

"R'hosts?" Scooby asked a bit scared, though it was just a story.

"Yeah, some people thought that. It kinda felt like the old days, when we just tumbled over mysteries, even thought it was a little one." Fred reminisced, it certainly was fun though a bit to short for his tastes. Not really too much of a challenge.

"Aw." Shaggy whined. "You guys had fun without us..." He grumbled.

"Yeah, but you got free food instead, not too bad of a bargain. Plus there wasn't much to it. Some kids were wearing these masks and trying to scare the couples. Hardly the heart pumping action of our usual mysteries. Just a bunch of snot nosed kids thinking they were cool to scare people. I hope their parents give them a stern lecture later about it."

Shaggy nodded. "There is a time and place for it, and this isn't it. Keep the masks for Halloween."

Fred looked over at the simple mask, it really didn't look to realistic compared to some. Definitely a Halloween mask best used for the dark night for gathering candy. He had plenty of experience face to face with some that looked more realistic then he would have liked. The one in his hand was far from that.

Leaning back, Fred peered around where he was sitting to look at the two girls chatting away about something.

"Should we be worried?" Fred mused aloud. Shaggy shrugged at the question.

"I figured Daphne was up to something anyway."

Fred looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"What, I'm a detective too." Shaggy said around a mass of cotton candy, he looked a bit miffed at the look. His fluffy browns locked together looking at Fred with a look of his own. Fred shook his head, putting his hands up in his own defense.

"Come on Shag, you know that's not what I mean. I know that you're a detective. Hands down. We haven't been running around together this long that I just thought you're just a stomach on legs. I was just surprised you knew she was up to something and yet you are going along with it."

Fred had never thought anything against the laid back man. In fact he was always amazed at how clever the other man could be at times. Being a simple guy didn't mean that he was stupid. Sometimes simple was the way to go for certain things. Though Shaggy loved food, he was also part of the Mystery Inc. They were nicknamed '_Mysteries Five_' for a reason. No one was lacking in importance. Daphne on the other hand, was less trustworthy when she wanted to be. Not that she had any mal-intent really, but she wanted something badly enough to cheat a bit.

"Yeah, it feels like she's up to something alright, and she needs Velma's help for something. But I don't mind." Shaggy was mellow about the whole thing. Daphne would never do anything bad to him, not intentionally anyway. It wasn't like her. So he didn't see the need to stress about it.

"There are four things I don't like. Ghosts. Monsters. Going Hungry. And anything else that scares me." Shaggy listed the various things off his fingers he had been holding up. Fred smiled.

"Why not say two things then?"

"Then it wouldn't sound like more then it is." Shaggy said with a grin.

"As there is no monsters or other scary things about, I'm like' ok with that. And as you can see in front of me, the second is taken care of. Not much else to worry about then. Now if she wants to invite me to a underground mine she found nearby in exchange, then I'll be heading for the hills. But other then that, or something of the sort I'm going to indulge on her behalf." He said smiling, and indicating the slowly shrinking pile of food. Fred clapped him on the back and laughed.

"Ah, ever the sensible one Shaggy. If it's not broken, don't fix it eh? Mind if I have some? While we have to wait for them to come around and let us know what their evil plot is, anyway?" Fred asked, indicating to a bag of popcorn sitting close to him. Shaggy swallowed his mouthful and nodded at the request.

The three enjoyed each others company as they two girls disappeared. Mild conversation floated around them all as they waited. Eventually with Cheshire grins upon them both, they returned.

"Guys..." Daphne skipped closer with something hiding behind her back. Velma followed slower, the mask off her head and now in her hands. Daphne looked to excited for her own good. If they didn't already have been tipped off at her hiding something, how she was acting now was like a big neon sign hanging over her head, _"I'M UP TO SOMETHING!"_

Flipping up the pieces of paper she was hiding, she flared them out in front of her for them all to see. It looked like a runners number for a marathon.

"I entered us into..." Just as Daphne was about to tell them something that she had gotten three of them into, the loud speakers that hung above their heads crackled to life.

**_---------------------  
Greeting Carnival Attendees!_**

**_The Watermelon Eating Contest will start in a few minutes!  
All those who registered before hand, please make way to the tables!  
The late registration will be closing soon, so get to the main area!  
Come one come all!  
...and bring an empty stomach!  
_****_---------------------_**

As the speakers died down, Daphne offered the paper to Shaggy. Her eyes raising once as she handed it over before speaking.

"We figured you might want to participate. I bet you still have room, don't you?"

She looked over at the expecting Dane, with his tail wagging and paws outstretched for his own number. Daphne looked over at him regrettably.

"I'm sorry Scooby, none of these aren't for you. They won't let dogs participate. But we did try, sorry."

Snapping his fingers, he sighed. "R'ucks."

Taking the paper, Shaggy nodded to the pile of finished food. "Well, looks like you evened the playing field. I like' accept your challenge." Shaggy said with a grin, pinning his number to the front of his shirt.

"Games on!" Daphne smiled back and pinned her own number to herself. Surprisingly, Velma took the other number and pinned it to herself, rolling up her sweater sleeves up a bit higher.

"Looks like I get to watch with you, Scoob. This looks like it's going to be interesting." Fred said watching the sparks of competition flicker between the three participants. Scooby sighed again for not being included, but he was kinda used to it. He would just bug Daphne after for watermelon, it sounded pretty good right now.


	11. Competition

Fred watched as the various contestants gathered on stage. Though a bit jealous of the rest getting to compete, he had never been one for scarfing food unless he had too. But he had nothing against a friendly competition, as it was good for the spirit. But there was more to the competition then just who can eat watermelon the best. If he knew one thing, Daphne and Velma were up to something.

Acting on instinct, he had a hard time suppressing his urge to uncover the secret passed between the two ladies. Something was going on enough, that Daphne had to cheat to win... Something. _But what could it be?_

Pushing through the crowd that was collecting by the stage, he made his way by the judges and information table. As the people were distracted with the setup, he just slipped himself close enough to peek at the prizes.

"Ah, so that is her game." He said with a smile. It brought back nice memories. But he didn't have any time to get to memory lane as the speakers crackled to life.

**"Good Evening Ladies and Gentleman. Hurry up and gather round for our annual Water Mellon Eating contest! These fine folks have put their pride on the line and are ready to take part in our glorious event! But we have a twist this year!"**

Like a true entertainer, the man added flair to keep the audience hanging on his every word. And even this got Fred's attention. Perking his head up towards the stage, Fred noticed a group of ladies pulling off cloth that covered the 'twist' that this year was apparently introducing. But Fred wasn't sure what a bunch of buckets could do with the competition.

**"...Besides just who can eat the watermelons the fastest! We are having an accuracy contest as well. Since the last few years the competition was too close to tell, we added this little twist. Not only must you finish the melon, but each bucket is placed at a amazing four feet in front of each contestant! The person who has the most seeds in their bucket might just beat out to get second place! Competitors! Get ready... set... _GO!_"**

With a bang of the gun, the contest was on. They had placed Daphne, Shaggy and Velma close together, so Fred didn't have to stress to watch each of them on the large stage. There were probably twenty people competing, but already it was leaning in his gang's favor. While Daphne started off rather fast, Shaggy seemed to be pacing himself due to the prior meal he had already had. But going the slowest was Velma, who seemed to be testing the wind and making some mental calculations. Fred smiled as he figured she was probably going to use some type of math formula to figure the perfect arch to get the seed into the bucket. A few of the contestants had tried to hit the bucket, but none had gotten to many in. With a nod, Velma aimed and spit her seed. The first missed, but it would be the last as the second little seed made a small ting as it hit the bottom of the metal bucket. The crowd went wild!

Though among the crowd, there came a slight whining noise. Looking down, Scooby had come up next to him and was sulking.

"Oh come on Scoob. It's not like this will be the last eating contest. Plus, they have a plan."

Confused, the Dane looked up at Fred. Raising an eyebrow, he glanced over at the girls and then back to Fred.

"R'an? Rhat r'an?"

"Do you remember back when we were kids? When you were just a pup? Shaggy had something he wanted from a competition and he ended up getting himself sick?" Placing a paw to his chin, Scooby thought about it. It was a long time ago though, making it hard for Scooby to remember. Bringing his paw down, he shook his head.

"R'ope!"

"Man, I remember like it was yesterday..."

"Resterray? R'it ras r'ike resterray? Resterray r'I ras rungry..." Thinking about it, the Dane recalled being hungry the day before. And since they had just eaten, he wasn't too hungry. So it couldn't have been like yesterday.

"It's a saying Scoob. I mean I can recall it clearly as if it was yesterday."

"R'oh, r'ok!..." The Dane nodded, though Fred wasn't sure if he fully understood. But that was ok. He might recall the story as he told it.

"It was like yesterday... But not yesterday." Fred corrected himself, just in case. "Ever since Shaggy was little, he loved Commander Cool and collected just about ever comic book that had come out. But his collection wasn't complete yet."

Thinking back, Fred had to smile. Those were simpler days, and it was nice to recall being so young. Though Shaggy hadn't changed much over the years, mainly just got taller. He was still the same old Shaggy he knew back then.

"... The mall was holding a competition. We knew way ahead of time that there was going to be this cookie eating contest, and the prize had caught Shaggy's eye since it was a Commander Cool comic he didn't own yet. The sponsor was the local comic shop, and the eating contest was also super hero themed. It had all the kids in an uproar."

it was amazing what well placed advertising and marketing could do. The mall must have made a killing that day, with all the kids coming to the mall to compete.

Looking up, Fred tried to see how well things were going. Daphne had slowed considerably, but she was holding a consistent lead. Velma was still pacing her, but her speed for the seeds was incomparable to the other contestants. The sounds of the seeds hitting the bucket had caught the other competitors eyes, but none could match her accuracy. Not that some didn't try. Shaggy looked like he was struggling, showing clear signs that it wasn't the best plan to eat before a contest, but that had been the plan all along though...

"Shaggy begged for days, for Daphne to help him make a Commander Cool outfit for him. He had owned one before, but a certain little puppy had buried it one rainy afternoon and it had been ruined." Looking down, he gave a look to Scooby. The Dane quickly looked away, whistling his innocence away. Fred rolled his eyes and continued.

"Finally, Daphne agreed. With the costume in the process, and time coming close to the contest, Shagy begun his cookie training. Cookie box after cookie box was bought by begging various parents, and we had gotten a decent amount to practice with. Probably TOO much to practice with, as even Shaggy's mighty stomach had caved under the intense training. And right before the day of the contest. Shaggy was devastated..."

Looking up, he noticed that same sickly green color starting to form on Shaggy's face up at the table. Closing his eyes, Shaggy sighed as he placed down his last watermelon, not wanting to press his luck. He knew he was beaten... The girls plan had won. Though he was not the only one to have quit, several people down the line had given up long before Shaggy, and not nearly having as many plates littered around him. Even if most still continued to the end, it was clear that he had a clear shot for second or third, depending on how much Velma ate. She was behind him on plates, but her seeds in the bucket were definitely something to fear. Shaggy had been ok with spitting, but he had been too busy eating to really think about spitting out the seeds sometimes. Fred smiled, seeing the plan fall into place.

"...She was so mysterious... The little girl in purple who won the contest that day. I got Velma to help me drag Shaggy to the contest. Even if he wasn't competing, it was still such a big event that there was bound to have some free stuff for those there. It was good that we had gone, or I would not have believed it with my own eyes. She called herself 'Super D', and had a purple super hero outfit. It wasn't modeled after any super hero I knew, but that didn't matter. With a mask covering her identity, she sat down and blew away the competition, earning her the comic."

There was a roar from the crowd as the contest came to a close. Scooby jumped to his back paws to be able to see who won. It was clear from where the announcer was standing, that it was one of the gang at the end of the table.

**"In third place! Shaggy Rodgers! Better luck next time... Second place goes to the lovely lady to his left, Velma! Her seed spitting skills will be talked about for years to come! And the winner is!... "** With the announcer drawing out the winner, Fred laughed. He would have to pick on Velma later for earning that title. Looking over at Scooby, he gave the Dane an affectionate scratch on his head.

"But a funny thing happened... With comic in hand, the purple masked girl gave it to Shaggy before disappearing into the crowd... Red hair trailing behind her as she vanished among the people. Shaggy never knew who she was..."

**"Daphne! With an amazing amount of eight pounds of watermelon! Congratulations to our winners, and everyone who came out today to compete! And now the Prizes! To the first place winner, you will receive a plaque that bears your name as this years Watermelon champion, and a brand new Camera! So you can take pictures next time!"** Grinning from ear to ear, though stained with pink all over her mouth, Daphne was thrilled. Not only to have beaten Shaggy, but to have a brand new camera in her collection. Which to her, was never a bad thing.

**"Second place earns a brand new Encyclopedia Britannica! Perfect way to look up Watermelons and their historical journey to the Americas in the 1500's."**

The cheers weren't as loud as they announced that prize. There seemed to be murmurs among the people near Fred, all feeling like that was a pretty stupid second place prize. But little did they know, it went to the one person who would want it over any other prize on the board. That and since it was a CD version, it was a lot easier to bring on road trips. Breaking and books were never a good combination... And the back of Fred's head knew better then anyone.

**"And finally, Third place prize is a all you can eat pass to any of the sponsored restaurants and shops for the next half year! To help you train for next year! Thanks everyone for coming, and we hope to see you next year! Have a good one!"**

The speaker died down and slowly the crowd dispersed into the rest of the carnival. One by one, the other contests gave the winners a pat on the back or a handshake before leaving. Soon, it was only the three left on the stage.

"Oh... I'm full." Groaned Daphne, placing her head upon the table in a spot that wasn't covered in watermelon. Fred made his way over and hopped up to give them all his congratulations.

"Looks like your plan worked." He said smug, seeing the price she paid for her brilliant idea. Shaggy was still in shock, he was absolutely tickled for his prize.

"... You planned to have me get third, so... I could get that?"

Tears were forming at the edges of his eyes. Never had Shaggy been so happy to not win, at least when it came to food. Pride was one thing, but friends were so much better. Adjusting her jaw, Velma massaged where her mouth connected to her skull.

"Ugh. Ow. Yeah... Daphne heard the announcer telling someone about the prizes. She got the crazy idea to beat Shaggy by filling him up first, before the contest would be announced. And once she told me the second place prize, I was more then willing to help. Though I think I over did it with the seeds."

Fred laughed, coming over to peer into the bucket. It was quite a sight... Probably the most amount of seeds he had ever seen in one place since the last Jones family picnic.

"That is worth talking about for years!" Fred jeered, earning a groan from Velma. A brilliant mind, Several masters degrees under her belt... And now Queen of the Carnival Spitting Seeds. Just what her resume needed.

"Ugh... I don't want to move. How about we sit around for the next few... Hours..." Daphne lamented into the table, sounding funny as she spoke into the wood. Fred came over and helped pick up her head. He gave her a kind smile and offered a hand as he leaned in close.

"Come on _Super D_, I know the perfect place to rest."

Her eyes widened with the recollection of that name, before she blushed a bit. She had been caught, but she figured Fred would have figured it out. She already knew that Velma knew, as the woman had walked in on her testing out the outfit as she was a kid. Helping Daphne to her feet, Fred made sure to whisper just to her.

"Don't worry, I won't tell."

"Tell, tell what?" Shaggy wondered, on his feet and already feeling better. Since he had stopped early, he had enough time to let his body digest enough to make it easy to walk around. He was a master level eater after all. Fred looked back and waved his hand at the other man.

"Nothing, I was just saying how I know of a perfect place to rest. How about a few rounds on the train that circles the Carnival? We still have some time to kill before night falls. Come on Gang."


	12. Fireworks

The train ride that circled the carnival, was just what the doctor ordered. The gang was able to rest off the watermelons that had begun to set in their stomachs. It was no surprise, that Shaggy was the first to recover of the three, turning his attention to entertaining a small child that sat nearby. Using his many talents, Shaggy spun a wild tale of the watermelon contest to the curious kid who listened on eagerly. But the contest was full of giants, a giant vine that reached the sky, and some chase sequences that earned the rolling eyes of the ladies who played the 'damsels' in the story. But it was a welcome distraction to his small, and weary looking mother. To her, Shaggy's tall tale was a blessing, allowing her to get the rest that she had sought upon the train ride, much like the gang.

"Bye bye mister!" Said the small child as they all got off of the train together. The thanks was very clear upon the mother's face, needing no words to express her feelings. Shaggy just smiled and waved back to the little kid as they moved off into different directions.

"Cute kid." Shaggy sighed, giving a look over his shoulder. But he was unable to find the little guy among the crowd in the growing darkness. Various lights lit the pathways, but night was becoming evident.

"**ATTENTION PATRONS!**" Crackled to life one of the nearby speakers. It spoke out loud and clear to all the people who were still at the carnival, though the crowds had thinned at bit as the day had worn down into night. It also seemed like more couples were about, walking hand in hand, compared to the dwindling number of children. No doubt the mother and her son were soon to join that number, if they weren't staying for the firework display.

"**The fireworks display is about to start! So please start making your way to the waterside for the best seats in the house! The set up is underway, so make sure you find the best place to watch the sky!**"

Looking at each other, the Gang exchanged excited looks. It had been far too long that they had been able to get together and see a good fireworks show. Sure, they might see one in passing as they drove by a place, but it was usually when they had a case or something. This was the first time in a long time, they would be able to see a show from start to finish. (Which was always the best way to catch it.)

"So Gang, where do we want to go?" Fred jumped in first, trying to get the ball rolling. He knew them all, and very rarely did they all come up with the same answer. And the fireworks were already getting set up, so they didn't have much time.

Looking at each other, a knowing glance passed between Shaggy and Velma. Reaching into their nearest pockets, Velma was quicker to beat Shaggy to bring out the maps they had stashed. Snapping his fingers, he didn't let the defeat bother him as they both offered the maps to the others. Pushing up to stand of his back paws, Scooby leaned over to join Fred to look at Shaggy's map, while the girls huddled together on Velma's. Taking a moment to look over their options, they each found their ideas on the paper map.

"The Ferris wheel!"

"The Swings!"  
"The Carousel!"  
"The Food court!" "Rood r'ourt!"

Each called out something different, making them glance about before bursting into laughter. This was going to take longer then they had time for. Moving to take the reins, Velma pointed at the various mentioned rides.

"The food court is out of the question, sorry guys. But it's located on the far side and they have too many tall rides and building around it. We wouldn't be able to get a good look at the fireworks."

"R'hucks..." Grumbled Scooby, unhappy at the turn down of his idea.

"Next time, we'll try to find a carnival that has the fireworks near the food court, ok?" Offered Velma, which seemed to satisfy the Dane. "Alright, that leaves the Carousel here, then the Swings and then the Ferris wheel is the closest. We can do this one of two ways... either hit the further ones first and see if the lines aren't too long, or try for the closer ones in hope that it isn't as busy as the more popular Ferris wheel. Sorry Daphne."

The Ferris Wheel was her idea, but she thought it would be the perfect ride to go on, as it had the best view of the waterfront the higher you got on it. But that was probably something a lot of people would think. Chewing on her lip in indecision, she wanted to go on it as much as she realized it was a bad idea in general. Because she knew that unless they were able to teleport across the carnival, they didn't have much time to get on line before the fireworks went off. And the ride was big enough that if you got stuck behind it, it would hide most of the fireworks anyway. Sighing, she gave up on her idea.

"As much as I would like it, we probably won't make it in time. Let's try to run for the nearest one. The carousel, like Fred wanted. We better hurry."

Nodding to one another, they had made their decision. Putting the maps away in record time, the group moved into a run. They wove through the few people who were still wandering about. It seemed that the mass of the crowds had already moved to their own ideas of where to go. Crossing the distance they needed, the gang made their way to the carousel. But it seems like a bunch of people liked Fred's idea as much as he did. The line was not terribly long, but with the fireworks going off soon, most rides were going on longer to let those riding on them enjoy the fireworks during it. As much as he wanted to get on the line, he knew they would never make it to the front in time.

Stopping at the edge of the ride, Velma pulled out her map again. Holding it out under the lamp light, she pointed out where she had spotted the swings on the map. It was pretty relaxed, so it would be an ideal ride to watch the fireworks. Giving the others the directions, she slid the map into her pocket and led the way. Weaving around the growing lines to the other rides nearby, it wasn't looking very good as they got deeper into the carnival and closer to the water. They didn't even need to get close before they knew that Velma's idea was a bust also. The line was twice as long as Fred's ride.

"I don't even want to look towards the Ferris wheel..." Balked Daphne, getting depressed as their ideas had all failed. so much for their plans. Pulling out the map, Velma put herself under another lamp, to cast the light upon the paper in her hands. Looking up, Fred shielded his eyes at the lamp, a idea trickling across his mind.

"Hey Shaggy." Taking a thumb, he shook it at the lamp. Then he interlaced his fingers and shook his palms upward. Shaggy smiled and knew what Fred was asking, as soon as he motioned. Nodding for Fred to move to the side, so they didn't hit the ladies, he took a few steps back. Licking his finger, he tested the wind for a few seconds. Nodding with the result, he stretched a bit before tossing Fred a thumbs up. Bracing himself, Fred got ready as Shaggy burst into a run. Velma and Daphne continued to look over the map as Shaggy hit Fred's palm perfectly and was thrown into the air. The lamp wiggled as the lanky man caught the arm of the lamp in his hands.

"Hey! Watch it up there." Daphne commented, more annoyed at the sudden movement in the light then the fact that her companion was now perched upon it. Lifting a hand to his forehead, he strained his eyes to look over the carnival at his new height. Giving him an aerial advantage to see the various lines.

"Good thing we didn't go to the Ferris Wheel, it's pretty long. I can see it from here." Shaggy shouted down, making the red head sigh.

"What about the drop tower... Eh... The tall tower over there somewhere. You should see the seats dropping up and down once it reaches the top." Velma simplified. Not that she believed him to not know what it was, but it was quicker to give a shorter and more to the point description.

"The one with the people screaming? All full!" Shaggy reported.

"Well, not that one. What about... No, those are more in closed." Daphne tried to offer, but it didn't work. "The bumper cars are fun, but they need the roof on those rides. So that is a no go. Oh! What about the boat rides?" Daphne offered to the sky above her head, not wanting to shield her eyes to the light.

"Hm... It looks like it's closed. So that doesn't work. I guess, it's like' too close to the water to let anyone on them." Shaggy noted, made sense to him.

"Darn." Daphne grumbled, they were running out of time and options.

"R'here!" Bounding up on his back paws, he placed his weight upon Velma as his paw shot out to point at one of the rides on the map. Looking at him, Velma wasn't sure if it was a genius idea or just a useless one. Shaggy had been watching from the lamp and he was able to see where his buddy pointed. Casting a glance to the direction, he scouted out the possibility.

"I think we have a winner! The guy at the head of the line looks like he's going to fall asleep over there. It's a ghost town at that section of the rides. I think like' it's our best bet!"

Pushing off of his resting spot, his feet left the pole leaving him hanging in the air for a few seconds. With a skilled hand, Shaggy gripped the side of the lamp and slid down it like a fireman, landing lightly upon the ground.

"Show off." Said Fred with a grin, bumping Shaggy with a shoulder. "Come on Gang!"

Moving away from the shifting crowds, they crossed the carnival and went towards the children's rides. Since most of the kids were either home or with their parents, the rides were still and there was not a line in sight. Scooby led the way, weaving them through the various rides to one in particular. It was a simple, circular ride that was made up of a bunch of different cars.

"Hey, sorry to wake you." Shaggy spoke up, trying not the startle the man who sat by the controls. Shaking out of his nap, he tried to pretend he hadn't been sleeping.

"Huh, what... Oh. I wasn't sleeping." Letting off a yawn, he stretched in his seat. "Merely resting my eyes. What can I do for you folks?"

"Do you mind us riding that ride for the fireworks?" Daphne tried to put on her sweetest face, pleading the man to let them ride on it.

"Sure, I don't see why not. As long as no one else wants on, you can ride it all you like." Being a sucker for a pair of batting eyes, the controller was more then willing to let them on. Especially with such pretty ladies about. Not that he didn't have to do too much, just push a button to start it and stop it. Easy enough, but something that took a trained man like himself to control.

"Thanks! You're our hero. Keep up the good work!" Saluting him, Daphne moved to where Velma rolled her eyes at her.

"Flatter much?" Velma grumbled quietly to the other woman.

"The man gets to deal with little screaming kids all day, in the heat and the cold. I think if I can flatter him a little bit, it's worth it. Makes him feel better after a long day." Daphne pointed out, regretting nothing. Velma couldn't argue with that logic. She hadn't thought about it that way. Not that she could even think about doing something similar, it just wasn't in her nature. As much as she might respect what he did.

Moving between the lines, the group came to the cars. They were all different, with numbers all placed on their sides. They seemed to all be various types of working vehicles with some random cars and such added in.

"Rine!" Shouted the Dane, diving for one of the cars from the get go. It was easy to see why, as it was one of the only cars that had spot for two people to ride in. Jumping into the back seat, he stretched out to claim the back part of a large stretch limo. Offering a haughty look, he clapped his paws at Shaggy.

"Reebs! R'y R'river. R'hop R'hop!" Pointing at Shaggy, he then pointed at drivers seat before him. Laughing, Shaggy bowed to his furry buddy and then placed on an invisible drivers cap.

"Jeeves it is! Right-o! Pip pip!" Giving his comments a cheesy accent, he crossed the ride to sit in the drivers seat of the limo. It was far more impressive then the mystery machine, though in little kid form. It would have been rather impressive if it was real.

Laughing at the two goofs, the others sought out their own vehicles. Fred grinned as he found a fire truck. It even had a little ladder and a painted on Dalmatian on the side. Giving the little bell on the front a ring, he signaled he was ready. Daphne would have joined Scooby in the limo, but the Dane made sure that he wasn't going to share. Pursing her lips, she looked over the various options. She giggled at Fred as he claimed the fire truck. He looked so big compared to the little car he sat in, but that didn't damper his entertainment for the bell that was in reach. Her eyes searched for a bit before she saw the car that was two behind Fred.

"Oh why not..." Sliding in, she put herself behind the wheel of a police car. "My mother always said if I was planning on living so dangerously, I might as well be a cop... But I would look so silly in one of those uniforms."

"Yeah, one uniformed color with no deviations... You would go crazy wearing the same thing day in and day out. I would give you a week." Quipped Velma, who still had not decided.

"Har har. Coming from you, I would say that is a compliment." Daphne replied, sticking her tongue out at the brunette.

"Better hurry up. I think the fireworks are about to start. The speakers aren't really working too well over here. so it's hard to hear the announcements." Called out the man behind the controls. Forced to make a decision, Velma moved to the nearest vehicle. Which put her right behind Daphne, sitting upon a motorcycle.

"Vroom..." Velma commented, feeling silly sitting on the ride. She really wasn't prepared to lay strattled upon the back of a 'hog', so she was riding sidesaddle on it. "I look silly..."

"Hm... So it's Bandit Velma on her rad hog... Did I say that right?" Fred pondered, trying to make a story as the ride kicked into life. Inching them up in speed, Fred looked back at the ladies behind him.

"So Bandit Velma is chasing her long time rival, Danger Daphne the lady cop!" Which earned a few rolled eyes from the two ladies. "And Danger Daphne is distracted as she tries to help Fireman Fred as he is on a job. Er... Um... A job to help Lord Scooby and his loyal driver Shaggy Jeeves on some secret missions. Yeah, that's it."

"I think you should leave the story telling to Shaggy, Fred." Daphne said, feeling embarrassed for the older man and his horrible story telling skills.

"Yeah, like leave it to me!" Shaggy chuckled from the head of the limo, leading the gang in the circle. Though it wasn't much of a course, as it lightly bobbed up and down on small hills in a big loop, each car pulling the other behind it. "Besides, it would be me and Scooby chasing after Velma."

"Great. I go from..." Velma was about to make a snarky comment when the first explosion went off, cutting off her sentence.

All eyes drifted to the sky as they watched the various colors flicker across the sky. It was not something they hadn't seen before, but there was something magical about them anyway. And it helped that there wasn't a soul around besides them and the guy controlling the ride. A hush fell upon the area, letting only the echo of the blasts to tell the story in the sky. They was no doubt some music that the fireworks were being set off too, but since the speakers didn't provide anything to go on, they just listened to the beats that the fireworks made on their own. Giving it their own life, a rhythm that belonged just to those who could only hear them. Untainted by the possibility of some horrid remix or some terrible singer messing up a classic. It was just the beats; fresh and being imprinted on the gang as they listened and watched under the clear sky. The lights accompanied the beats with a brilliant display, flicking in colors and shapes that seemed impossible with just a mixture of powders and flame. But it was amazing at what people could come up with.

A while passed as they watched the sky's dance in silence.

"Guys..." Murmured Shaggy between blasts. A muted response came back, as all attention was to the sky.

"... We need to come back here, next year too."

"Yeah."

Came a muffled agreement from the others, each one wanting to see this view again. It didn't matter that they were out of the way, and the view wasn't the best. But the company was good, and it was so worth it. Definitely something worth waiting a year to see again.


End file.
